[ted920]

Originally Posted by tvasica

What are you thinking about this front flip?

I love that front lip but think its likely much more expensive than the Maxton.

[tvasica]

Originally Posted by ted920

I love that front lip but think its likely much more expensive than the Maxton.

Yes, it is expensive. I got it prepare for my new car with door sills from same company. The flip is 1700 EUR. Iam now waiting for rear diffusor because I will have car with towbar

[tvasica]

Rear diffuser

[black_F10M5]

Originally Posted by tvasica

Rear diffuser

Love that rear diffuser, can you share where you got it from? Fit looks pretty good from here, how was install?

[tvasica]

Originally Posted by black_F10M5

Love that rear diffuser, can you share where you got it from? Fit looks pretty good from here, how was install?

I have not got yet, Iam waiting because I will have car with towbar and producer prepare it. It is Larte design company. Look at their Instagram or websites. I have at at home prepare for my car front splitter and door sills

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by ted920

I love that front lip but think its likely much more expensive than the Maxton.

I emailed them awhile back when i still had a M50i on order and their prices for the kit was insanely expensive.

For painted parts the front, side and rear diffuser was about $6300usd msrp

For the carbon parts it was about 9Kusd and that didn't include the mirror caps, grills etc..

Alan

[Ninefourteener]

Soooo..... I'm going to un-hijack my thread here again....

There are two types of people in this world;
1. People who hate plasti-dip
2. People who love plasti-dip

I wasn't sure which one I was until today, and I'm absolutely a 100% believer. I've watched a TON of instructional videos on how to do plasti-dip the right way, and how to achieve the results you want. I'm here to tell you that if you do it right, it's a very cool product.

All those "don't use plasti-dip" videos on YouTube? They didn't follow direction, take their time, and spray properly. If you do it right.... you will get the results you want.

A. I didn't like the grey upper bumper since day 1. It doesn't match anything else on the car.
B. I liked the black diffuser I bought, but I didn't like how the color was slightly different.
C. I wasn't going to pay QUADRUPLE what paint costs in the US, to have it done here in Belgium.

The solution? Let's give plasti-dip a try. I plasti-dipped the diffuser, the upper bumper, and the thin trim panels on the bottom of the rear sides.... all in satin black so they all match.

150% satisfied. Love the way the satin black matches the frozen black decals. Love the contrast between the satin black body panels and satin black exhaust tips..... up against the gloss black exhaust bezels. Looks MEAN.

And now.... the hitch is TRULY hidden. You can barely even notice that it has a hitch, because it blends right in.

When I rotate back to the US in a few years, maybe I'll have them painted. For now though, couldn't be happier.

Last picture was before I plasti-dipped, so you can see the mis-matched colors.

EDIT: Because so many people have asked about it. Here's the process I used:

1. Perfectly clean (with Windex or degreaser to be sure), perfectly 100% DRY car. (I actually saw some idiot plastidip his BMW grills on a WET car on Youtube)
2. Keep spraycans in a pot of hot water. Keep the water hot. replace with more hot water if necessary.
3. Mask 1-inch OUTSIDE the area being sprayed
4. 1st coat is LIGHT. Barely 50% coverage. Car still very visible through the plasti-dip.
5. Spray evenly, EXACTLY 6-inches from surface, consistently... in smooth strokes across entire surface. No "back and forth, up and down". It's not graffiti.... spray like you've seen videos of professional auto painters spray.
6. Focus on the OUTSIDE of the spray area, just as much as the area you want covered - this is important. Otherwise, it won't peel correctly.
7. Wait 15 full minutes. Don't cheat.
8. Another light, 50% coat... sprayed in the same manner as step 4, 5, and 6. Car will still be slightly visible through plasti-dip. If the car is 100% covered.... you went too heavy, and will likely have drips.
9. Wait 15 full minutes again.
10. 3rd coat..... heavier, slower... but still even and smooth and consistent with steps 5 and 6. 3rd coat is about when you'll stop seeing any paint through the plasti-dip. Don't stop though... 3 more coats.
11. 15 minutes wait... every time.
12. 4th coat... just as heavy as 3rd, exactly the same
13. 15 minutes wait.... don't cheat.
14. 5th coat.... same as 3rd and 4th.
15. 15 minutes wait.
16. 6th coat... same as 3rd, 4th, and 5th... but be SURE you covered the OUTSIDE of the spray area with just as much coverage as the inside.
17. Wait 1 hour.
18. Remove all tape/masking CAREFULLY. Tape and masking leaves an UGLY seam (which is why you spray outside the area you want covered). It may tear a bit, so pull the tape AWAY from the coverage area - not toward it.
19. Peel off area outside the spray area, using the seam of the car to form a perfect line. If you did it right, it will peel perfectly, and easily.
20. Wait 3 hours before driving car for it to fully dry.
21. Wait 1 month before aggressive cleaning, drive-thru car washes, etc... so it can fully cure.

Diffuser and upper bumper took 1.5 cans.

[GlennC]

Wow, looks great!!

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by Ninefourteener

I finally sold "Clownie" (named after it's close resemblance to a clown car). This was the $1000 POS I bought to drive, while I waited over 4 months for the M50i to arrive.

Just in case you thought my obsession was "only" with the M50i..... nope. I can't leave well enough alone. Who in their right mind would intentionally buy a $1000 POS to get them by, and then end up practically doing a restoration on a car that isn't worth the parts you put into it?

This guy.

Still.... it's part of the M50i story.... so I thought I'd share it here. I won't bore you with all the details of all the work I did on this car while I was waiting for the M50i to arrive.... but let's just say it was "considerable". The visible stuff is easy to see. It's the non-visible stuff that's harder to see.... like the entire suspension system - LOL

Off to a new owner. "Clownie"...... before and after

Looks like a Nissan with Italian Abarth aspirations. Looks good!

[Ninefourteener]

Originally Posted by X5 45e

Looks like a Nissan with Italian Abarth aspirations. Looks good!

Thanks! It actually DOES have Abarth inspirations. There's a guy 2 houses down that has an Abarth.... with those side stripes. When I began searching for decals, I was looking for something very similar.

[DCwell3er]

That really turned out nice!

[Alan l.]

Turned out real nice. Maybe you can add a ceramic coating over the plastidip to make sure it doesn't fade over time.

[UltraDave]

Originally Posted by Ninefourteener

Soooo..... I'm going to un-hijack my thread here again....

There are two types of people in this world;
1. People who hate plasti-dip
2. People who love plasti-dip

I wasn't sure which one I was until today, and I'm absolutely a 100% believer. I've watched a TON of instructional videos on how to do plasti-dip the right way, and how to achieve the results you want. I'm here to tell you that if you do it right, it's a very cool product.

All those "don't use plasti-dip" videos on YouTube? They didn't follow direction, take their time, and spray properly. If you do it right.... you will get the results you want.

A. I didn't like the grey upper bumper since day 1. It doesn't match anything else on the car.
B. I liked the black diffuser I bought, but I didn't like how the color was slightly different.
C. I wasn't going to pay QUADRUPLE what paint costs in the US, to have it done here in Belgium.

The solution? Let's give plasti-dip a try. I plasti-dipped the diffuser, the upper bumper, and the thin trim panels on the bottom of the rear sides.... all in satin black so they all match.

150% satisfied. Love the way the satin black matches the frozen black decals. Love the contrast between the satin black body panels and satin black exhaust tips..... up against the gloss black exhaust bezels. Looks MEAN.

And now.... the hitch is TRULY hidden. You can barely even notice that it has a hitch, because it blends right in.

When I rotate back to the US in a few years, maybe I'll have them painted. For now though, couldn't be happier.

Last picture was before I plasti-dipped, so you can see the mis-matched colors.

It looks really good. Just curious, how come not gloss black to match the exhaust rings and the front of the car? Did you remove the bumper before spraying or just masking?

[JonnyCrash]

Ok, you've made me into a plasti-dip believer. Someone suggested ceramic coating to keep it looking good, but I would suggest getting some ppf film and using that instead. Or just leaving it and waiting to see how long it lasts. The satin black look is perfect for your car, and really does bring out the door decals. In short, A+++, would drool over photos again.

[Ninefourteener]

Originally Posted by UltraDave

It looks really good. Just curious, how come not gloss black to match the exhaust rings and the front of the car? Did you remove the bumper before spraying or just masking?

Thanks. I don't think plasti-dip makes a "true" gloss black. I could be wrong, but I kinda wanted to go with a satin/matte anyway..... to help "hide" the trailer hitch. I'm glad I got the hitch, but it is incredibly ugly, and screws up the look of the entire car IMO. Satin helped hide it. The diffuser, upper bumper, and hitch assembly are all now EXACTLY the same color and gloss.

I removed the diffuser, and plast-dipped it on it's own, for one, to see how it came out, and secondly in case I hated it and decided to remove it.

Once I was happy with the results on the diffuser, I masked the bumper of the car (1 inch outside the spray zones)..... did 6 coats, removed the masking, and then peeled the excess off. As advertised, the seams of body panels on the car make a perfect line when tearing off the excess.

Honestly.... I'm really impressed with this product.

[Ninefourteener]

So...... I've been wondering how that Maxton front lip spoiler would hold up on my first trip to the German Autobahn.

Held up like a champ. No issues whatsoever. I was actually going considerably faster than this.... but this was the first time I felt comfortable enough to take one hand off the wheel and snap a picture.... lol.

You know..... the Autobahn has curves and stuff. It's good to pay attention... lol I noticed the car gets a bit squirrely around 145-150mph. Maybe cars fitted with dynamic handling would be a bit more stable at that speed? I have air suspension, so it's understandable that it gets a bit wonky going that fast. Still, 130-140 is rock solid, all day long though (easily 40 minutes non-stop of 120+ mph). I was even hitting slightly irregular/wobbly curves at 130+, on all-season tires..... not summer tires...... and it still handled like a champ. Never really tensed up until I was going 140+ and saw a curve coming.

I love Germany.

[atlas]

Wow that plastidip looks fantastic. Great job. So you didn't have to remove the bumper? That makes the job so much easier!

[Ninefourteener]

Originally Posted by atlas

Wow that plastidip looks fantastic. Great job. So you didn't have to remove the bumper? That makes the job so much easier!

Thanks!!

I did remove the diffuser to plasti-dip first.... just to see whether or not I liked it. Once I realized I got the results I wanted, I went ahead and masked the upper bumper (I did not remove it), sprayed, and peeled.

It's a bit unconventional, but plasti-dip is actually DESIGNED to be oversprayed. The area I masked was about 1-inch outside the upper bumper. You spray it just as consistently, and just as thick as the bumper itself, and then you just peel off the access. The bumper seam forms a perfect tearing point, and creates a perfect line. It's bizarre actually. But it works.

The only issue I had, was about a 6-inch section where I didn't spray heavy enough OUTSIDE the bumper area. It needs to be just as thick as the bumper itself. I had a small area outside the bumper that was thinner, and didn't get enough coverage..... and thus, became difficult to peel off. It had to be rubbed off with my thumb. It's ironic that the heavier you spray outside the area you actually want covered, the easier it is to peel and get a perfectly clean line.

All those videos that say Plasti-dip isn't easy to peel off??? Those people didn't get good enough coverage. They only got 2-3 coats. If you do a FULL 5-6 coats, it tears off easily, and the seams of the car form a perfect line.

BTW.... this job was done with 1.5 hand-held spraycans.... not a professional sprayer system. I followed directions to a T.... and it came out perfectly.

Not sure I'd want to do a whole car with this stuff.... and if I did, I certainly wouldn't spraycan it..... but for small trim pieces and what-not... I'm an absolute believer.

I updated the original thread with the exact steps I used to get the results I did.

[bhe]

I suppose you cut the outside area before you peel it off?

[Ninefourteener]

Originally Posted by bhe

I suppose you cut the outside area before you peel it off?

No...... the seams between the panels of the car, create a perfect line when you tear the excess off. No cutting required.

This guy is doing his Tundra badges..... but the concept is the same, and he followed directions, and got great results. Same principle as the bumper, just on a smaller scale.

It's actually unusual to find someone that did it RIGHT on youtube.... so many clowns skip steps, do it wrong, then complain about the product.

This guy did it right:

[Ninefourteener]

Well..... I had hoped that "maybe" they were ahead of schedule..... they aren't. But, I suppose "on schedule" is better than "late", right?

This week is 6 weeks from ordering/payment. End of next week would be 7 weeks. I was quoted 6-8 weeks, so I suppose I can't complain.

Even still..... wicked excited to receive/install these beasts, and set the suspension where I want it. I think it's going to completely transform the car.

Satin bronze
22x10.5 front, with 285/30/22
22x12 rear, with 335/25/22

Pic is the best I can do...... for now.

[bhe]

I'm already waiting more then 2 months for some D2 forged wheels with custom specs and production hasn't started yet..